Field devices, such as process variable transmitters, are used in the process control industry to remotely sense a process variable. Field devices, such as process actuators, are used by the process control industry to remotely control physical parameters of a process, such as flow rate, temperature, et cetera. The process variable may be transmitted to a control room from a field device to provide information about the process to a controller. The controller may then transmit control information to another field device, such as an actuator, to modify a parameter of the process. For example, information related to a pressure of a process fluid may be transmitted to a control room and used to control a process such as oil refining.
Intelligent field devices are field devices that include processing circuitry and communicate digitally on a process communication loop or segment. Examples of such digital process communication include process communication protocols such as the Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART®) protocol, the FOUNDATION™ Fieldbus protocol, Profibus, WirelessHART (such as that in accordance with IEC62591) et cetera. Additional examples of digital communication include communication on a MUX network, a Wireless Gateway network, a modem network, or any other suitable digital communication network. These intelligent field devices are more complex than the analog field devices which they often replace. However, intelligent field devices are able to provide additional information and control functions in comparison to analog, 4-20 mA, field devices.
Before intelligent field devices can be used on a process communication loop or segment, they must be configured properly in order to effectively communicate valid process data to control systems, programmable logic controllers, and/or remote terminal units. Field devices can also provide valuable diagnostic information about their own health as well as the process health. To take advantage of this functionality and to avoid false alarms, it is important to configure the diagnostic functions and alert levels properly. However, configuring intelligent field devices can be a time-consuming and error-prone process. Considering that in some large processing plants, hundreds if not thousands of intelligent field devices may be used to control, monitor, and maintain production processes within safe limits, the efforts required for such configuration are not trivial.
Historically, intelligent field devices have been configured individually using handheld communicators, such as that sold under the trade designation Model 475 Field Communicator available from Emerson Process Management of Austin, Tex. Alternatively, intelligent field devices have also been configured individually using configuration software such as that sold under the trade designation AMS Device Manager available from Emerson Process Management.